The best seat in the house for the first presidential debate of 1992 was at your house Sunday night. Seats at the watershed event -- televised live from the Washington University Field House -- were scarcer than unvoiced political opinions. Space was limited due to the requirements of four network platforms, camera sites and the huge stage set. However, the eye of television focused equally well for all interested Americans.
The scarcity of seats did not stop many from trying all they could think of to get tickets. An operator at Washington University's main switchboard said she had taken "about a million" calls from people who wanted to attend. They tried arguments such as "My friend's mother works there," and "My father went to school there."
Nothing worked. All callers were referred to a phone number carrying a recording that politely explained the reason for the extremely limited number of tickets. Callers also were told that the few tickets designated for the University were to be distributed by lottery to students.
One faculty member started early on the Monday before the debate trying to secure tickets for his two children. "It would have been an educational experience for them. They should see how important it is that politicians are able to define and address the issues," he said.
He first phoned a public affairs staffer, then a governmental relations officer and finally the chancellor's office, where he learned that the Commission on Presidential Debates controlled distribution and that the majority of tickets were being held for the campaign supporters of the three candidates. "Even many members of the press were in a room 20 yards from the debate, looking at it on televisions," the faculty member pointed out. He agreed that the lottery to assign the few available tickets to students was the best policy.